Elson, James, 1925-1970

James Elson, producer and director was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 26, 1925.

During his career he directed and produced theater, radio and television shows. He directed television programs such as THE TONIGHT SHOW, THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS and THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW. He died on April 26, 1970.

James Elson, producer and director, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 26, 1925. He attended elementary school and high school in Tulsa. In college he majored in English and minored in Engineering at University of Texas. In 1948, he earned his bachelors degree and moved to New York City to attend graduate classes at the American Theatre Wing.

During his career James Elson was involved in radio, theater, and television. Early in his career he worked in radio as a radio writer. Later he worked on a variety of theatre productions including the 1948 Broadway show Three Short Plays . In 1951, he became a producer-director for an NBC local station, WRCA-TV in Ohio. He specialized in producing cultural and documentary shows. One of his most successful programs entitled Princeton '54 won first place for best educational programs in the Ohio State Awards. He stayed with the station for the next five years until he was hired by the NBC Network in 1956. He produced and directed nationally televised shows such as the Steve Allen Show, The Tonight Show, and Wide Wide World . In addition, he directed special episodes for television programs including Music From Shubert Alley an Andy Williams Special and three specials for the Dupont Show of the Week entitled The Ziegfeld Touch with Joan Crawford, Chicago and All That Jazz, and Regards to George M. Cohan . He directed a children's show entitled Children's Specials for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company. During the 1964-65 season, he directed That Was The Week That Was . As a producer and director he worked with Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, Rosemary Clooney, and Jose Ferrer in a Thanksgiving special entitled No Place Like Home . He went on to direct programs for public broadcasting and became the producer of N.W. Ayer T.V. James Elson died on April 26, 1970 in New York.